@Joanne Hunter I think that reframing how one perceives combat has helped me in my practice. When I think of combat, a fight, or what have you, I typically think of a boxing match or wrestling match; force on force. However, Williams Sensei has mentioned many times that strength is relative when put into the context of weapons. Everything else is essentially a contest that one agrees to participate in instead of a problem to be solved as quickly as possible. To your observation about removing the ego, the sword doesn’t care about the force we try to produce against it and neither should we. With that in mind, we can mold our movement to solve problems with less. My two cents on the topic.

“Hello everybody, my name is Chris and I’m from California. I’ve studied Nami Ryu Aiki Heiho under Randy George Sensei from 2014-2017 and life has recently been kind enough to allow me the time and ability to begin training once again. I have always had a high interest in the material culture of warfare; weapons, armor, engines, fortresses, and the way individual warriors carried out combat throughout history has been a life long personal study. I came across Williams Sensei’s tameshigiri videos when searching for Japanese swordsmanship and it lead me to Nami Ryu where I met Randy George Sensei. My first lesson was an introduction to atemi waza and that first lesson was, to quote Angier Sensei, “Tension equals pain.” Williams Sensei’s profound philosophy on war and the application of principle taught through the sword have, in many ways, adjusted how I observe and interact with the world around me. I’m looking forward to chatting with you all. Feel free to message me if you want to talk history, martial matters, music, what have you!

@Joanne Hunter you as well!